There’s more to The Power of Love than we realise!

In 1993 the popular Canadian singer Celine Dion released a cover version of a song originally performed by by Jennifer Rush called “The Power of Love”. Featured as a single from her album, The Colour of My Love, it followed the release of another single of a cover of “When I Fall in Love” from the same album. It was subsequently nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop and Vocal performance and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single in 1995.

As a single it became an international smash hit, rising to the top of the charts in the United states, australia and Canada, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks and becoming the first Celine Dion single to do so. It fast became a certified platinum hit in the US and achieved gold sales in other markets worldwide. Much as the lyrics allude to the relationship between two lovers it strikes me that the reference to the power in love is actually quite relevant to our relationship with our Father in heaven.

Many of us would like to see God’s power at work in our lives and we often go to great lengths to seek this power. Long periods of fasting and prayer can often be found in our quest for this Holy grail of the anointing and often that does yield results in some form or another. I do not consider myself to be much of a book writer but this theme has of late been kindled inside me as I seek His face, that I am considering delving into the potential benefits of love in our lives, apart form the apparent feel good side of it. The lyrics from the song have a chorus that includes these words:

‘Even though there may be times
It seems I’m far away
Never wonder where I am
‘Cause I am always by your side’

(The Power Of Love lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, EMI Music Publishing)

In a similar fashion, Hebrews 13:5 tells us that we should be content with what we have ‘because God has said, “never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”’ This is indeed a comforting promise from our Father but it still does not address the issue of why so many of us today bear only the promise of God’s power in our lives but do not see its manifestation. Reading the Acts of the Apostles we clearly see the manifestation of both God’s love and His power in the daily lives of the believers, especially after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. I am sorely tempted to write everything in one blog post but the more I meditate upon the power of love, the more I realise that it is an untapped resource that we have yet to fully understand and probably requires a deeper look into than meets the eye. For this first blog post lets dwell on some foundational things. Find some time and look up the word love in the  Bible and you will see it mentioned over six hundred times. A quick look up on the word hate and you will find it mentioned only around 120 times. It is even mentioned more times than the word worship (around 240). It seems therefore that love has a great deal of importance in Gods Word.

John writes in 1 John 4:11-12 (NIV) ‘Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.’ These verses clearly indicate that God desires to inhabit our beings with His presence and in doing so manifest himself. The obvious requirement is that we should love one another since He has himself loved us first. In John 13: 34,35 Jesus tells his disciples the following: “A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” We are often so keen to have people ‘know’ that we are believers not realising that the best demonstration of our faith in God is the way we treat one another and others. I shall continue with this thread on the power of love and see where it leads. Let us end with the foundation for love which is God the father’s love for us in John 3:16: ‘ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (NIV). There is no greater love than that which God has for us!

Be blessed! Be loved! Believe!